Character Designer Career: Skills, Salary, Requirements

If you’re trying to figure out whether character design is a real career path, you probably have the same worries many beginners did: “What do character designers actually do day to day?”, “Who hires character designers?”, and “What should my portfolio look like to get the first gig / job?” In this guide, I’ll break down the job, the tools, the skills, the pay, and the most realistic ways to get your first opportunities. Here is our detailed plan for this article:

• Are character designers in demand?
• What does a character designer do?
• What tools do character designers use?
• How much do character designers make?
• Essential skills for character designers
• How to become a character designer?
• What challenges do character designers face?
• Tips for starting a career in character design

Are character designers in demand?

Today, character designers remain in demand because studios and brands keep commissioning animated work across streaming, games, and online content. My opinion is based on real numbers, so let’s take a look at them. 

According to GlobeNewswire, the overall animation market is often cited at about USD 462.32B in 2025, with forecasts reaching USD 895.71B by 2034. In parallel, “animation production” (the work being made) is estimated at USD 393.39B in 2025, forecast to USD 631.52B by 2034, at ~5.40% CAGR (2025–2034). Those are big numbers, and in practice they translate into more projects that need new characters, especially when studios need fresh IP, new seasons, or game content drops.

From my experience and what I see, here’s where the work is coming from most consistently:

• Animation studios
• Gamedev

The job market reality for character designers

Even when demand is high, the structure of hiring makes it feel “hard” to break in for several reasons:

• Small teams. On many productions, you’ll see 1–2 character designers (sometimes none if the lead concept artist covers it), supported by generalist artists. That means fewer openings per project than other departments.
• Dominance of contract work. A lot of roles are project-based. That affects your income stability, and it’s why your portfolio and network matter as much as your CV.

The industry creates enough work that skilled character designers do find projects, but you don’t “walk into” a full-time character designer role. Most people I’ve seen succeed either enter through adjacent roles (illustration, concept art, storyboarding), or build a focused portfolio that makes it obvious what kind of characters they can deliver for a production.

What does a character designer do?

A character designer transforms a written idea into a character that other people in production can actually use. You don’t just “draw a cool character”, you design something that stays consistent from shot to shot, episode to episode, or level to level.

In practice, your work usually starts with a brief, a script, or early storyboards. You read what the character needs to do, who they are, and what world they live in. Then you translate that into clear design choices: shape language, proportions, age, silhouette, outfit logic, and facial features that support the personality.

Your core responsibilities (what you deliver)

Most character design work focuses on a few repeatable outputs:

• Drafting sketches from the brief/script. You generate multiple directions quickly: different silhouettes, body types, costume options, and “range” (how far you can push the style without breaking the project’s look).
• Anatomy, poses, and expressions that explain the character. You show how the character moves, how their face works, and how their proportions hold up in different angles and emotions.
• Collaboration and alignment. You review your designs with the director, writers, art director, and concept artists. You listen for the real constraint behind feedback (story clarity, tone, production limits), then adjust your design without losing the character’s identity.
• Model sheets and turnarounds. You create front/side/back views, expression sheets, and key pose sheets, so the character can be modelled or animated consistently.

Where people often underestimate the job is the production responsibility. You need to design for the people who will use your work. That means you keep details readable, you avoid shapes that break when rotated, and you make choices that hold up when the character appears 200 times across a project.

Where your role fits in the pipeline

Character design happens early, but you feel its impact later, usually when someone else tries to build or animate what you drew.

In pre-production, you explore options and lock the direction with the team. At this stage, you solve the most important questions, like:

• What the character should look like
• What visual rules you follow
• What you’ll avoid so the style stays consistent.

Once the direction is approved, you move into a handoff phase. Your sheets become the reference that other departments lean on. In 2D, that’s the difference between an animator staying on-model or constantly guessing. In 3D, your turnarounds and construction clarity affect how cleanly the model gets built and how well it deforms.

Then production moves to animation and revisions, where weak designs get exposed fast. If proportions feel unclear or small details clutter the silhouette, animators simplify it to survive the schedule. When your design reads cleanly and stays consistent from multiple angles, the team wastes less time “fixing” the character in every scene.

What tools do character designers use?

You’ll use a mix of sketching tools and digital software, because studios need designs they can share, revise, and build from. In my workflow, I sketch fast, then I finish everything digitally so it fits into a production pipeline. With sketching, you have 2 main options to work with: 

• Pencil / fine liners + paper. To me, it is the fastest way to explore silhouettes and proportions. I use it when I require volume and speed, not polish.
• Digital tablets (most common in studios). A pen display or a pen tablet lets you stay fast, undo mistakes, and keep everything in one file from the start.

Just remember, the key is not what you sketch with. It’s whether you can produce clear options quickly and move into clean digital deliverables without losing the design.

2D software I see the most

• Photoshop. My default for sketching, line work, painting, and clean presentation. It’s also the easiest place to build a character sheet layout.
• Illustrator. Useful when the style needs crisp vector shapes (simple TV styles, mascots, branding characters).
• TVPaint. Great when you want rough animation tests or you need to check how a character holds up in motion.
• Toon Boom Harmony. Common in 2D TV pipelines, especially when rigs matter. Even if you don’t rig, Harmony knowledge helps you design characters that animate cleanly.

If you aim at 2D studios, learn at least one “production” tool (TVPaint or Harmony), not only painting software. It changes how you think about turnarounds, line economy, and what details will break in animation.

3D software used in character design workflows

• ZBrush. Often used for sculpting a character concept in 3D, especially when the style is realistic or needs strong forms.
• Maya. A common studio standard for 3D production work. You may not model in Maya as a designer, but you’ll often review models or rigs made in it.
• 3ds Max. Still used in many pipelines (varies by studio and region), sometimes for modelling and scene work.
• Blender. Very popular for indie teams and freelancers. It’s strong enough to take a design from concept to a full 3D character if you want that flexibility.

If you want to learn more about the above tools, then take a look at our article about choosing 3D software.

Keep in mind that even if you stay “2D-only”, basic 3D blocking (a simple mannequin, a rough head) can save you when a character must work from multiple angles. It also helps you avoid designs that look good in one pose but fall apart in rotation.

Quick tool-to-task table

Most people start on paper or a sketch app, but final output needs to be digital and shareable: layered files, clean turnarounds, readable line work, and exports that other artists can use without guessing. If your files are organised and easy to revise, you become the kind of designer teams want to rehire.

How much do character designers make?

You can make a solid living as a character designer, but pay swings a lot based on where you work, whether you’re working on a full-time position or freelancing, and how specialised your work is. Below is a practical snapshot you can use as a baseline when you negotiate.

What affects your pay the most

• Location (the strongest factor). The same skill level pays very differently in London vs smaller UK cities, and LA-area studio work vs lower-cost US markets.
• Experience level. Juniors get paid for reliability and speed more than style. Seniors get paid for decision-making: you reduce revisions, you design for production, and you guide other artists.
• Studio vs freelance. Studio roles usually trade higher stability for less control. Freelance can pay more per day/week, but you cover gaps between projects yourself.
• Industry. Games often budget more for character work (and expect tighter technical constraints), while TV animation can pay less but run longer seasons.
• Specialisation. If you can cover 2D model sheets + expression sheets, or bridge 2D-to-3D cleanly (designs that model well), you usually negotiate from a stronger position than a general “nice sketches” portfolio.

Essential skills for character designers

You don’t need to be “good at everything” to work as a character designer, but you do need a specific mix of skills that makes your designs usable in production. Build these skills and your portfolio will improve faster, plus you'll stop wasting time polishing work that won't get you hired.

Technical skills (the ones studios actually test)

• Drawing ability (the core skill). You need control over proportion, shape, and clarity. In interviews and tests, this shows up as: can you design fast, can you stay consistent, and can you draw the same character from multiple angles without it drifting.
• Anatomy and form (human and non-human). You don’t need medical-level anatomy, but you do need to understand how it works. That includes animals, creatures, stylised bodies, and how clothing sits on different builds.
• Motion awareness and animation principles. You should understand what will bend, squash, stretch, and rotate. This helps you design joints, hair, outfits, and accessories that won’t fight the animator.
• Style range (without losing control). You need to work in a given style guide, not force your personal style onto every project. That includes anime, realism, and simplified TV styles, but the real skill is matching the project’s rules.
• Digital painting and illustration technique. Even if you mostly deliver line-based model sheets, you need enough rendering skill to communicate materials, age, mood, and key details when the production asks for it.
• Visual storytelling. You should communicate personality through shape choices, posture, facial design, and costume logic. A character should “read” before anyone explains them.
• Pipeline understanding. You need to know what happens after your work: rigging, modelling, animation, texturing, and production constraints. This stops you from designing things that look great in one pose but break the moment someone builds them..

A practical self-check I use: if you can’t draw your character front/side/3/4, plus five clear expressions and three action poses, your “design” is still an illustration.

Soft skills (the ones that keep you getting rehired)

• Creativity. The best ideas fit the brief, the schedule, and the style guide. “Unique” only matters if the team can actually produce it.
• Collaboration. Character design is not a solo art project. You’ll work with directors, writers, animators, modellers, and other artists, and you’ll adjust your work so the whole project stays coherent.
• Feedback handling. You need to take notes, implement changes fast, and not treat revisions as personal criticism. Speed and attitude matter a lot in production.
• Time management. Deadlines are real. You need to control scope: when to explore, when to commit, and when to stop polishing.
• Adaptability. Projects change. A director changes tone, the game shifts camera angle, the studio cuts animation budget. You need to adjust designs so production can still deliver.

If you build these skills together, you become a valuable and competitive specialist to hire. 

How to become a character designer

So, how do you actually become a character designer? You've got to develop the skills we have highlighted above and prove them with a solid portfolio. There is only one way to do it, you need to learn and put in the work to educate yourself.

Educational paths you can take

A degree or structured education is useful if you’re looking for clear guidance, mentorship, and dedicated time to practice every week. The most relevant routes include illustration, animation, fine art, and game art, as well as specialized programs focused on industry-ready skills. At CADA, our 3D digital artist degree and ZBrush character sculpting course are designed to provide that structure while closely reflecting real production workflows.

While it’s possible to go the self-taught route, it requires working with the same discipline as a professional and building a portfolio that clearly looks hirable. I’ve seen self-taught artists succeed when they treat learning like a schedule rather than a mood, but having a guided education often shortens the learning curve and helps avoid common mistakes along the way.

Steps that actually get you hired

1) Build drawing and visual storytelling first. I’d prioritise gesture, anatomy, and shape design over rendering. Studios hire you for clear characters that read fast, not for perfect brushwork.

2) Learn character design deliverables, not only “character art.” You should practise the boring-but-hireable outputs: turnarounds, expression sheets, key poses, and clean linework that stays consistent.

3) Build a portfolio that looks like the job. I recommend you include 4–6 complete character projects, not 30 random sketches. For each project, show:

• A short brief (1–2 lines: who the character is and what the production needs).
• Exploration sketches (so people see how you think).
• A clean final design.
• A turnaround or model sheet.
• An expression sheet.
• At least one “in-context” image (a frame mock-up, a simple scene, or a lineup).

4) Get comfortable with digital tools and animation basics. You don’t need to become an animator, but you should understand what breaks rigs, what makes drawings hard to repeat, and how silhouettes read in motion. That knowledge directly improves your designs.

5) Apply for junior entry points that studios actually use.
Many people don’t enter as “Character Designer” on day one. They enter as:

• Assistant / junior designer,
• Concept art junior,
• Storyboard revisionist,
• Generalist 2D artist.

6) Network like a working artist, not like a salesperson. Show work-in-progress, ask for specific critique, and follow artists and studios you genuinely want to match. Online communities, portfolio reviews, and local events can also help because they create repeat exposure over time.

7) Keep one clear direction while you grow. Early on, “I can do anything” reads as “I haven’t decided yet.” Pick a lane for your portfolio (2D TV, feature-style, stylised game, realistic 3D-ready).

The moment your portfolio looks like a production handoff pack, you stop competing with hobbyists and start competing with juniors, which is exactly where hiring managers place you.

What challenges do character designers face?

Today, any job in the design sector has numerous challenges, and character design is not an exception. Even when the industry has plenty of projects, you still need to be ready for competition. Let me describe all the main challenges you will likely face. 

High competition for jobs

You don’t compete only with beginners. You compete with experienced freelancers who already have credits and studio connections. On top of that, many artists apply to the same openings because character design is a “dream role” for a lot of people. The practical effect is that your portfolio needs to look production-ready, not just aesthetically good.

Limited full-time roles

Studios often keep small design teams and scale up only when a project needs it. That means you’ll see fewer permanent roles, and more seasonal project contracts. If you want stability, you often have to earn it by becoming the person they can drop into a pipeline with minimal onboarding.

AI impact

The problem with AI is that some studios are cutting staff because it can speed up work and make it much cheaper. However, you must understand that no matter how advanced the models are (whether GPT, Nanobanana, or MJ), they still have flaws and do not always work perfectly. Is there a risk that AI will replace you? I don't think so, but you can definitely be replaced by the person using it. So learn the basics, learn how to create great characters, and learn to use AI in your work. AI is not a replacement for skills, it's an addition that will make you more competitive.

Tips for starting a career in character design

Here are a few practical tips I can recommend from my own experience to you:

Practise daily sketching, but don’t sketch randomly

It’s better to sketch 30–60 minutes a day with a clear target than draw for three hours once a week.

Build a clean, themed portfolio

A portfolio gets stronger when it looks like it came from a real client brief. Pick one direction (for example: “2D TV comedy” or “stylised game characters”) and build around it. For each project, include:

• Short brief (who the character is and what they must do).
• Exploration sketches (so people see your thinking).
• A clean final design.
• Turnaround + expression sheet.
• One in-context image (a frame mock-up or lineup).

Also, show the pieces as they are now and how they were at the start. Hiring managers like to see how you come up with a design, especially if you can make changes without losing the same ideas.

Put your work where studios actually look

Use:

• ArtStation for portfolio presentation and discoverability
• Behance for clean case-study style breakdowns
• The Rookies if you’re early-career and want structured exposure

Don’t upload everything you draw. Curate hard. A smaller portfolio that looks like production work beats a large gallery of mixed quality.

Use contests and challenges as deadlines

ArtStation challenges can help because they give you a theme, a time box, and a reason to finish. 

Attend portfolio reviews and ask for specific feedback

When you ask for critique, don’t say “any thoughts?”. Ask questions like:

• “Does the turnaround stay on-model?”
• “Does the silhouette read at thumbnail size?”
• “Which detail will cause animation pain?”

You’ll get clearer answers and faster improvement.

Collaborate on indie projects to learn production reality

If you can, team up with game dev students or small indie teams. You’ll learn scope control, feedback loops, and handoff quality. Even one small shipped project teaches more than ten isolated illustrations.

Use social media with a purpose

Instagram, TikTok, Youtube Shorts are your friends for promotion. Today, this is really one of the best ways to build your name. Keep in mind that it won't be an easy journey and you won't get immediate followers or clients. But consistency always pays-off. If you don't know where to start or what to post, then check other specialists. Learn from them by analysing their content: 

• Which posts went viral.
• Why do you think it got so many engagement.
• What attracts you in their content.  

Final word

The fastest way of getting into character design is to stop treating it like personal art and start treating it like a production role. Pick the kind of work you want, then build a small set of characters that prove you can deliver the full package: turnarounds, expressions, and clean handoffs. 

And don’t wait for permission to “feel ready”. Set yourself a simple cycle you can repeat: one brief, one character, one finished sheet set, every two to four weeks. That pace gives you momentum, a growing portfolio, and something concrete to show when opportunities appear.